


lost in translation

by procrastinates



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, interpreter!renjun, literally the lightest angst ever i promise., translator!renjun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24642352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/procrastinates/pseuds/procrastinates
Summary: Jaemin counted aloud the pictures, yelling, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5!”“1, 2, 3, 4, 5,” Renjun translated simply, catching Jaemin’s eye.“No, you can’t say it like that,” he responded. “5—”Renjun let out a chuckle and repeated, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5!”–A mere second-year linguistics major in college, Renjun figured that being raised bilingual in Jilin wasn’t sufficient enough to work as an interpreter for one of the most popular K-pop boy groups in the world, but he had submitted his résumé anyway. Somehow, he found himself in a chair a few feet away from several managers and cameramen, a Super Idol League: Season 5 script in his hands.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 325
Collections: RENMIN FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	lost in translation

**Author's Note:**

> RM#066: an au where jaemin is an idol and renjun is an sm staff. renjun has a crush on jaemin and the latter doesn't seem to notice him until they go to a trip to film a reality show (like nct life)
> 
> first of all, i'd like to thank the prompter for creating this idea!! it's been the longest time since i've written anything, but as soon as i saw this in the list of prompts i immediately thought of turning renjun into translator jiejie... so here we are! i hope you all enjoy :) <3
> 
> btw: quotes & italics = chinese; italics alone = thoughts!

If he were to be completely honest, Renjun had no idea how he managed to get the job.

A mere second-year linguistics major in college, he figured that being raised bilingual in Jilin wasn’t sufficient enough to work as an interpreter for one of the most popular K-pop boy groups in the world, but he had submitted his résumé anyway. Somehow, he found himself in a chair a few feet away from several managers and cameramen, a _Super Idol League: Season 5_ script in his hands.

(He wasn’t complaining, though— apparently, SM Entertainment paid its regular staff almost as well as its idols.)

Regardless, Renjun still felt nervous, biting his lips in anxiety. He’d never had a _real_ job before, let alone one working with celebrities, so he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He didn’t have much time to think about what could happen, especially as the security lock beeped and three young men shuffled into the room.

Renjun wasn’t really a fan, but he knew enough about NCT Dream to get through the series. He had researched the boys’ profiles and listened to the group’s title tracks, so at the very least he recognized that the members coming in were Jaemin, Chenle, and Haechan. The three idols gave polite smiles and waves until they got to the large table at the front of the room set up with several mobile devices. Renjun observed with curiosity as they quickly put down their belongings, placing their bags off to the side of the room and setting their drinks on top of the table. The boys then lined up behind the table, Haechan in the middle and Chenle and Jaemin on either side.

“Please allow us to introduce ourselves,” Haechan began before counting off.

The group chorused, “To the world, here is NCT! Hello, this is NCT Dream, we’re looking forward to working with you!”

Soon after the boys’ introduction, a manager rushed up to the three with scripts, quickly briefing them on the details of the broadcast and the different portions of the show. Renjun watched in awe as the young men quickly shifted into professional mode. They took the manager’s information in stride, nodding along and flipping through the script as the older man spoke. 

Aside from the flashy music show stages and comedic interviews he’d seen on YouTube, Renjun had never thought about what idols were like away from the cameras. He just assumed they were carefree people, kids who only focus on singing and dancing. However, as the boys absorbed more and more information, Renjun figured that perhaps idols were much different from the screen. Eventually, Renjun decided to tune out of the conversations around him, but the same manager quickly called him over. Renjun quickly snapped out of his thoughts and walked over to the group with his own script in hand.

“Boys, this is the interpreter you’ll be working with for the next few months,” the manager prefaced. “Renjun, please feel free to get acquainted with them.”

The older staff member patted Renjun on the back before hurrying off to another part of the room, and Renjun turned back to see Haechan, Jaemin, and Chenle looking at him expectantly.

Renjun hesitated for a moment, but he quickly said with a bow, “Hello, I am Huang Renjun, a sophomore studying linguistics at Seoul National University. I look forward to working with you as your interpreter.”

The three idols gave short bows, and Haechan quickly followed, “Feel free to drop the formalities— you’re the same age as Jaemin and me.”

Startled by the sudden casualness, Renjun just responded with a quick nod and a small grin.

A moment of silence passed between the four young men, but before any of them could say anything else, a staff member yelled, “We’ll begin filming soon!”

Renjun offered an awkward wave and a small bow as he headed back to his seat, and the three responded with their own waves and smiles before they sat down in the chairs. Soon enough, the red lights turned on, and the broadcast began.

Midway through the first game, the boys interjected with random comments as they explored the map.

“Guys, I ran over 7 people,” Jaemin said.

“ _Guys, I ran over 7 people,_ ” Renjun translated.

A few seconds pass before Chenle responded, saccharine sweet, “You did really well, baby.”

Renjun thought for a moment as he felt embarrassment fill his veins. As an interpreter, he wasn’t obligated to copy exactly what Chenle said, and he wasn’t really close enough to any of them to use words of endearment, despite Haechan’s encouragement to use informal language.

He finally decided on, “ _You did really well._ ” 

Chenle suddenly looked away from the screen to shoot a quick glance of confusion.

“Why didn’t you translate the word ‘baby?’” Chenle questioned. “You need to translate the ‘baby,’ too!”

Renjun translated his words then laughed in disbelief as a blush crept up his cheeks. “ _I’ll pay attention to that next time._ ”

Jaemin gave an amused smile as he kept his eyes locked onto the screen. “He has no choice but to translate.”

Otherwise, the broadcast ran as scripted: short introduction, one hour of gameplay, Q&A session. As the livestream continued, Renjun got more and more accustomed to the job, quickly processing the idols’ words and translating them into Chinese. To be honest, he enjoyed it— even though he just interpreted whatever Haechan, Jaemin, and Chenle said, he couldn’t help but feel like he was a part of the show too, drawn in by the teasing jabs and funny quips they made at one another. Perhaps Renjun was a little more than glad he decided to send in his résumé.

With only a few minutes left, the broadcast started winding down as the three idols ended the Q&A. Renjun figured his job was pretty much over— Haechan, Jaemin, and Chenle focused mainly on the different fan gifts in front of them, only saying short phrases as they signed miscellaneous merchandise and took Polaroid pictures. Nevertheless, he watched the three boys at the table, waiting to translate.

Jaemin set a Polaroid on the table, another selfie added to the pile he’d taken in the past few minutes.

He counted aloud the pictures, yelling, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5!”

“ _1, 2, 3, 4, 5,_ ” Renjun translated simply, catching Jaemin’s eye.

“No, you can’t say it like that,” he responded. “5—”

Renjun let out a chuckle and repeated, “ _1, 2, 3, 4, 5,_ ” making sure to copy Jaemin’s original tone. Jaemin giggled and turned back to the table.

Haechan laughed and turned toward Jaemin and Renjun before sighing amusedly, “Ah— Jaemin… Jaemin...”

Chenle finished signing his poster and complimented, “ _You are so hardworking. You’ve worked hard._ ”

Renjun smiled, satisfied with himself for getting a laugh out of the idols. But Jaemin laughed again and looked at Renjun with a beam. A quick second of contented silence passed between the two, and Renjun’s grin grew a bit wider.

“ _I'_ _m sorry,_ ” Jaemin apologized with a kind expression.

Renjun heard the smile in his voice as he repeated, “ _I’m sorry_.”

Jaemin returned to photo taking once more, but he soon counted again in a sing-songy manner, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!”

Renjun sang back, “ _1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,_ ” and Jaemin’s expression slipped into a warm smile, its beam filled with gratitude and sincerity.

Once the livestream ended, Haechan, Jaemin, and Chenle immediately stood up and thanked the staff with a grateful bow, “You’ve worked hard; thank you!”

At this, everyone began packing up and saying their thanks, which prompted Renjun to give quick nods to fellow staff and crew members as he organized his belongings. As much as he had enjoyed the job, he was ready to leave and go straight to bed.

_One episode down, 7 more to go._

Renjun crouched over his bag to look through it once more.

_Phone, keys, wallet—_

“Excuse me,” a voice behind him called. Renjun turned around to see Jaemin, who seemed to have been waiting anxiously.

“Uh, yes?”

Jaemin hesitated before he spoke, “Thank you so much for working so hard for us today. I hope I wasn’t too demanding before, and I’m sorry if my joke went too far.”

Renjun stood in shock as Jaemin offered an apologetic bow and a polite smile. He hadn’t really thought much of the incident— it was a funny moment for everyone, and Renjun found himself smiling as he remembered the idol’s goofy antics.

“Don’t worry about it. I had a lot of fun working with you guys today. I should be thanking you, not the other way around,” Renjun consoled. “You’ve worked hard, too.”

Jaemin’s apologetic expression slowly switched into a genuine grin: the same smile Renjun had seen shortly after he copied Jaemin’s counting the first time. Renjun was grateful to see Jaemin’s face light up again, even if it was over something so small.

A comfortable silence passed between them before Jaemin asked, “So, does this mean you’ll copy whatever I say?”

Renjun rolled his eyes and laughed. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you want.”

  
  


Having finished one episode, Renjun wasn’t nervous about working with NCT Dream anymore— if he were to be honest with himself, he looked forward to seeing the idols again. Haechan, Jaemin, and Chenle were much kinder than Renjun expected any celebrity to be, and once again, the young interpreter was grateful to have found such a great job opportunity.

(After all, who else would be lucky enough to get paid for watching a bunch of guys play video games and joke around for two hours?)

Like the first time, Renjun noticed the young men hurry into the room, except Jeno seemed to take Haechan’s place for the second episode. After the initial formalities and briefing session, the team quickly got to work, the broadcast starting only a few minutes after the idols’ arrival.

Jeno, Jaemin, and Chenle started off with introductions (of course, with a few jokes as per usual), and Renjun switched into interpreter mode, following the boys’ words with his own translations.

“ _And for those who didn’t watch our broadcast last time, this time for season 5 is NCT Dream. We will take turns with three members each episode,_ ” Chenle explained.

“This episode— yeah.”

“Okay—”

Jaemin turned away from the script to look at Renjun after the two spoke at the same time.

“Yes?” Jaemin said.

“Yes?” Renjun parroted, motioning for Jaemin to continue.

“Okay,” Jaemin replied, and he waited for Renjun to give an affirmative before smiling and returning to the script.

Renjun listened to Jaemin explain the game as he lowered his head in embarrassment, his chest filling with a sudden feeling of insecurity. He knew that it was a small slip-up and that it wasn’t a big deal, so why did he feel so nervous after Jaemin looked at him? Renjun quickly brushed off the thought as Jaemin finished his line, his cue to begin working once more.

Just like the last episode, gameplay followed the brief introduction, and Renjun did his best to translate whatever the three said throughout the livestream, making sure to copy each and every voice Jaemin created.

(“Polarrrrrrrrrroid.”

“Did you do that on purpose? … _Pooooolaroid_.”

“Ah, not quite the same.”)

Despite their efforts, Jeno, Jaemin, and Chenle failed to win a game within the hour, which forced them to do the punishments they wrote down earlier in the broadcast. Each of them picked one, and Jaemin unfolded his first only to be confused at the Chinese written on the page.

“What? What is this?” Jaemin held the paper up to the camera before showing it to Renjun.

“ _Every five words said, hit Jaemin,_ ” Renjun read. “Ah… For every five words said, hit Jaemin once.”

Jaemin’s face quickly shifted into a look of surprise as Jeno and Chenle began teasing, “Don’t you want to speak?”

At this, Renjun felt a strange pang of disappointment— as much as it was against interpreter conduct to copy someone’s tone of voice, Renjun enjoyed Jaemin’s weird outbursts, finding humor in the otherwise arduous task of two straight hours of translation. Regardless, he figured that the rest of the broadcast would be a nice break from the many sounds and voices Jaemin made. However, as the Q&A session began, Renjun found himself doing a completely different job instead.

After Jeno pulled his first question, Jaemin took a slip of paper from the cup in front of him and unfolded it.

“Read it,” Chenle taunted as Jaemin stared in silence.

Jaemin turned the paper to the camera, and eventually Jeno read, “‘What do you like to do when you have free time?’”

As Renjun translated the question, he heard Jeno laugh as Chenle remarked, “Wow, you’re really no fun.”

Jeno looked back at Jaemin and said, “I can’t help you respond to this.”

Jaemin sighed but quickly tapped Jeno’s arm. He began doing a bunch of short arm movements as he mouthed words, but Jeno just watched with an amused look on his face.

At the second gesture, Renjun quickly caught on.

“ _Gaming._ ”

Jaemin pointed at Renjun with widened eyes and nodded.

“Game,” Jeno understood.

Jaemin returned to his first gesture, this time looking at Renjun. Renjun focused only on Jaemin, his eyes intently watching the mouthed words and exaggerated movements.

“Zombie?” Renjun attempted to read Jaemin’s lips, but Jaemin mouthed the phrase slower and with more emphasis.

“Zombie? What is this? ...Cooking?” Jeno tried.

Jaemin repeated the gesture again, and Renjun finally exclaimed, “Shopping! Shopping!”

Jaemin reenacted his “game” gesture from before, and Renjun followed with, “ _Gaming._ Game.”

“Is this that thing?” Jeno joked, putting his hands over his ears to mimic earmuffs. “The whisper challenge?”

Jaemin continued on to his third gesture, moving his right hand in the same motion repeatedly while mouthing the word at Renjun.

“Photoshop!” Renjun yelled.

Jaemin pointed again and gave Renjun a satisfied smirk. Renjun could only return a determined nod and a smile as Jaemin turned and motioned Chenle to read a question. 

Chenle sighed then read, “ _‘Do you like cats or dogs? If you were to raise one, what would you name it?_ ’”

He answered that he liked cats more before taking a moment to think about the name. Eventually, he gave up, and began teasing Jaemin.

“What should the name be?” Chenle kept asking. “Say it! You can say it.”

After a few seconds, Jaemin turned to Renjun and held eye contact before pointing at Chenle and moving his finger over his mouth in one quick motion, mouthing—

“ _Shut up,_ ” Renjun translated, and the entire room fell into laughter.

It took a few seconds before he hurriedly clarified, “ _Oh, I-I was just saying what Nana was trying to say._ ”

As sudden nervousness filled his chest, Renjun felt compelled to apologize, but after looking at the three idols, none of them seemed bothered. In fact, they all seemed pretty amused, still recovering from the joke Jaemin (and, indirectly, Renjun) had made. He only felt reassured once Jaemin turned back at him— Jaemin had a bright smile covering his face, which made Renjun beam back in return.

 _Things are okay,_ Renjun thought as he saw the remnants of a grin remain on Jaemin’s face even after the question.

After that, the Q&A ran smoothly, and thankfully, for the rest of the broadcast, Renjun didn’t need to play charades with Jaemin or tell Chenle to shut up. Jeno continued to speak on Jaemin’s behalf before Jaemin began using his phone to “talk,” so Renjun peacefully returned to translation for the last few minutes of the livestream.

(Although, having to help Jeno read the username “ _Lee Jeno is my dad_ ” wouldn’t be exactly be a moment Renjun would classify as peaceful, especially after Chenle translated it back to Korean for him.)

Eventually, the episode came to a close, and the three signed off just before the cameras turned off. Once the livestream was officially over, everyone said their thanks and began packing up for the day. Just before Renjun left, he made eye contact with Jaemin one last time as the three idols made their way out of the door, and Jaemin mouthed something at him before exiting.

_Thank you._

  
  


As he watched Haechan, Jaemin, and Jisung sign all of the gifts in front of them, Renjun couldn’t help but think about how much had happened over the past two months.

Even though he wasn’t much of a K-Pop fan, Renjun couldn’t help but love the group. After working with Dream for so long, the members were much more than celebrities to him. Without fail, each episode had its highlights— whether it was the boys teasing each other during gameplay or Renjun responding like one of the fans, Renjun enjoyed every minute he spent with the five, and each episode made him feel more and more like their friend rather than their colleague.

However, Renjun couldn’t quite explain the feeling that bloomed in his chest whenever he looked at Jaemin.

Renjun wasn’t exactly sure how it happened. He knew not to mix business with pleasure, and he never really thought himself the type to get into relationships anyway. Whenever he had a crush on someone, he usually just ignored his feelings, storing them away in a hastily written diary entry instead of acknowledging that they were actually there. It was painful at times, but it worked, and Renjun didn’t mind letting his crushes go.

Once he’d realized he had feelings for Jaemin, Renjun wasn’t quite sure what to do.

_When did it all begin?_

Renjun ventured into his memories to think about the experiences he’d shared with Jaemin since December.

He thought back to the cup of coffee Jaemin brought for him before the last broadcast.

(“Hey, Renjun,” Jaemin greeted shortly after entering the room.

He had a coffee in each hand and outstretched his right arm toward Renjun, who hadn’t even gotten the chance to get up from his seat.

“Here, I ordered this for you,” Jaemin said. “I don’t really know what your coffee order is, but I just got a medium with two cream and two sugar. Is that okay?”

“Oh, thank you,” Renjun replied.

Renjun took the cup from Jaemin’s hands, and he couldn’t help but feel a little shy as their fingers brushed in the exchange. He tentatively took a sip before giving a small smile.

“This means a lot to me, but…” Renjun took a moment to phrase his next thought. “I don’t really like coffee that much.”

Jaemin seemed to freeze, an awkward smile stuck on his face as his ears began to turn red.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Jaemin apologized. “I just wanted to do something nice; I didn’t know you didn’t like coffee!”

Renjun shook his head quickly.

“It’s nothing, really! Don’t worry about it,” Renjun comforted. “This is really kind of you!”

Jaemin’s sheepish expression suddenly shifted into one of determination.

“So… if you were to go to a cafe, what would you order?”

Renjun looked up in surprise.

“Well… I really like jasmine tea.”

Jaemin seemed to give Renjun’s words some thought before nodding. Before either of them could say anything more, the producer called everyone to their places, the broadcast in only a few minutes.)

After looking fondly at the cup of jasmine tea in his hand, Renjun pushed the memory away and figured that it probably started before then. He remembered all of the times he helped Jaemin read the fans’ usernames.

(Jaemin showed pure ambition as he waited for Renjun to read the first username from the screen. To Renjun, Chinese was easy— _of course it was; it was his native language—_ but he knew that other people could have a hard time with it, especially if they’d never even attempted to become fluent. He figured the four Korean members probably had to take some Chinese classes before, but a few hours’ worth of lessons were hardly enough to perfectly read these usernames, let alone handle a two-hour Chinese broadcast alone.

Renjun read slowly, stopping after every few syllables to let Jaemin repeat the words. Even though the pronunciation wasn’t perfect, it was obvious that Jaemin tried his best to copy the tones Renjun handled with ease.

Besides, it’s not like Renjun had the heart to correct Jaemin, especially when Jaemin lit up after each username with a loud, “ _Congratulations!_ ”)

Or perhaps his feelings developed way before Renjun noticed Jaemin’s small habits. Maybe they started after the nth time Jaemin joked around with Renjun, making the interpreter copy his weird voices and say endearing phrases to the fans. Maybe it was the first time Jaemin had a real conversation with Renjun, back when he apologized for making Renjun re-translate his counting. Maybe it all started when Renjun first saw Jaemin’s smile: that warm, friendly grin that seemed to carry all of the world’s love and light within, charming its audience and leaving people wanting more.

Renjun wasn’t sure when he first fell for Na Jaemin, but he was certain that this time was probably the hardest he’d ever fallen. Each time he thought of Jaemin, Renjun could feel something bubbling in his chest: the fond memories he kept rising to the surface and the seemingly unavoidable fondness for the boy with the heartwarming smile.

And even though he heard the boys and translated say their goodbyes, Renjun hardly noticed that the episode was over, too lost in a neverending hurricane of feelings with Jaemin as its eye.

But once he finally snapped out of his reverie, Renjun looked up to see everyone cleaning up and getting ready to leave.

Renjun took a few deep breaths to refocus himself, then he eventually began to pack his belongings.

 _I can think about this later_ , he told himself.

However, Renjun felt a tap on his shoulder soon after he unzipped his bag.

He turned around to see Jaemin waiting expectantly, just like he had after the first episode.

“Since this is my last episode,” Jaemin began. “I just wanted to say thanks again for everything you’ve done for us the past few months.”

“It’s really nothing,” Renjun deflected. “It’s my job to translate, you know?”

“Yeah, but even then… I’m sure it’s not in your contract to copy whatever random things I say.”

“It’s really not. In fact, it’s not professional at all,” Renjun laughed. “But trust me, you helped keep me interested throughout the lives. Trust me; it’s all good.”

The two held eye contact for a brief moment before they both looked to the ground with smiles creeping onto their faces.

“Won’t you miss me?” Jaemin asked, and Renjun looked up to see a sly smirk playing upon Jaemin’s face. 

Renjun froze. Had he been found out? Did Jaemin realize his crush on him so soon?

He opened his mouth for a moment, trying to form words, but Jaemin continued, “You won’t have to do weird sounds and voices anymore.”

Renjun internally let out a sigh of relief before joking, “Yeah, totally.”

The two laughed, and then Jaemin took a step back, pointing a thumb at the door.

“I guess… I’ll see you around, then?”

Renjun’s heart stopped in his chest. Although Renjun would be back here next week for the last episode, next week featured Jeno, Chenle, and Jisung. Renjun wouldn’t see Jaemin next week, and perhaps, the two would never see each other ever again.

For the first time, Renjun regretted taking the job opportunity. It was far too easy for Renjun to get too invested, and for a moment, he felt as though he was a part of their group. But of course, how could he believe that? He was a second-year college student; these were globally famous K-Pop idols. Even if they were similar to one another, Renjun knew deep down that he couldn’t be Jaemin’s friend, let alone Jaemin’s boyfriend. 

He wished that he could’ve worked with them for even longer.

Ignoring the pain in his chest, Renjun put on a smile and told Jaemin, “I’ll see you around.”

Renjun waved goodbye as Jaemin beamed and walked through the door.

  
  


“It’s not very often that we get to do this,” the manager began. “But, since Chenle is already in China to shoot another waterpark commercial, we decided to schedule an _NCT Life_ shoot in Shanghai.”

The group remained in shocked silence as their manager continued. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a season for you guys, but it’ll be the usual format: a few games with some restaurant visits in between. Nothing too extreme, especially since you guys are going to start promotions for ‘Ridin’’ in a few weeks. Here’s the itinerary for next week; our flight’s at 7am next Tuesday.”

Jaemin scanned through the packet as soon as he received it. It was his first time being on _NCT Life_ , the other members having featured in at least one of the seasons prior. He attempted to calm his nervousness by reading through the travel plans and game outlines.

_I’ve done this before. This won’t be any different from any other variety show, just a few episodes longer. Not a big deal._

Jaemin sighed as he and the rest of the members walked into the airport with their managers. Even at 5 A.M., he should’ve known that fansites and reporters would be lined up to any pictures they could. He just turned up his music and pulled his cap down further, making sure not to let his newly dyed blue hair show underneath.

However, before going through the security checkpoint, the staff stopped just a few paces in front of it. All of the members looked up, some of them pulling out an earbud to wait for their manager’s instructions. Instead, the managers pulled out their phones and began reading through messages.

“Aren’t we going to check in now? It would probably be best if we get there as soon as possible,” Jeno asked.

One of the managers sent a few texts before replying, “We have to wait for a few staff members. As soon as they get here, we’ll all go through together.”

The five idols nodded and waited, albeit impatiently. None of them were particularly fond of being so out in the open, but they knew that far too often, it was easy for staff members to get lost in the airport, especially those who were new to the team. The rest of their team slowly began trickling in, each of them walking quickly toward the group and saying brief apologies before eventually pulling out their own phones during the wait. Jaemin turned his wrist quickly to check the time. The Apple Watch interface came to life. _5:27 A.M._ Who would show up this late?

Suddenly, Jaemin heard quick, thundering footsteps heading in his direction. He snapped his head up to see a familiar figure, a concerned expression covering his face.

“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Renjun apologized. “My taxi didn’t come on time, and we got caught in traffic—”

“It’s alright,” the manager consoled. “Let’s just go through security so we can get settled at the gate.”

Renjun took a deep breath before making eye contact with Jaemin, the first time in months.

 _Long time no see_ , Jaemin mouthed.

Renjun laughed before agreeing with a nod.

After the team passed through security, Jaemin watched with a quiet fondness as the rest of his groupmates flocked around Renjun, asking him how he’d been over the last two months. Even though none of them were particularly outgoing, all of the members missed the young interpreter. Having a staff member their age was extremely rare, let alone one that fit into their dynamics and was more like a friend than a colleague.

Jaemin wasn’t quite sure how he saw Renjun. He remembered their first meeting from just a few months ago, Renjun’s formality contrasting greatly with his youthful appearance. Only minutes after meeting, Renjun blended in with the members, quickly translating their jokes and even playing along with Jaemin’s silly voices. It was hard for anyone to get close to the group, especially because the five had been together for years. However, Renjun had done it with ease: teasing Jisung and Haechan, playfully bickering with Chenle, helping Jeno, and joking around with Jaemin.

Now that Jaemin started thinking about Renjun, he could only remember happy memories: counting in song, rolling his R’s midway through lines, buying jasmine tea instead of coffee, and the exchanging of sweet smiles. Jaemin didn’t really know why he did those things back then.

Perhaps it was because it was so easy to be drawn to Renjun.

Soon after the group arrived at the gate, it was pure business: priority boarding, one and a half hours of flight time, meeting Chenle at the airport, then straight into filming. Although others would have complained about the rush, the idols were painfully familiar with days like these, balancing scheduled events with practices, recordings, and other shoots. At the very least, their managers had ordered coffee for the entire team, so Jaemin was content.

Plus, Jaemin couldn’t complain when he had the opportunity to watch a certain young interpreter at work.

Before, Jaemin was grateful for Renjun’s quick-witted humor and bright personality, which always added to the playful conversations he shared with his members throughout the Huya livestreams. Now, Jaemin was in awe at how hardworking yet effortless Renjun looked as he talked with several different staff members and property managers. Even though he was familiar with working nonstop, Jaemin usually didn’t have to handle the more technical parts of the job— the staff handled that on behalf of the group, and when they didn’t, Jeno was always there to lead the rest. Jaemin couldn’t imagine processing so much information all at once, let alone switch between two languages when necessary.

With Renjun’s help, the first day of shooting went by smoothly, with the first few games and meals filmed. As soon as filming ended, everyone headed back to the hotel in preparation for the next day’s activities. However, while the rest of the staff checked into their rooms, one of the managers stopped Jaemin from heading up.

“Jaemin, we forgot to tell you before, but you’ll have to share a room with Renjun,” the manager said warily. “We have a lot more staff than usual, so we figured it was best to put you two together for this trip.”

Jaemin looked at him silently, waiting for him to go on.

“If you’re uncomfortable, one of us can switch with you,” the manager continued, “but you’ll have to room with another staff member unless you can get one of the others to switch instead.”

Jaemin sighed. He figured something would go wrong during this trip, but he didn’t expect it to be the accommodations. Even though he would’ve preferred hearing about this before, Jaemin knew that he wouldn’t have tried to switch rooms with anyone regardless. He didn’t want to make his members uncomfortable, and the team would only be staying in China for three days and two nights anyway.

“It’s fine,” Jaemin replied. “Just hand me the room keys; I’ll stay with Renjun.”

Jaemin couldn’t fall asleep.

He usually had a pretty poor sleep schedule, but on days with official events, he tried his best to sleep at a decent hour. However, after nearly an hour of lying in bed, Jaemin figured that it wasn’t worth trying to fall asleep right now, his mind too jumbled with millions of different ideas, plans, and worries.

 _Maybe it’s the jet lag_ , Jaemin tried to reason, ignoring the thoughts swirling around in his head. _But it’s not like China is that far from South Korea…_

Jaemin rolled onto his back as he opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He didn’t want to get up, afraid that making any sort of noise would wake up Renjun, who was already in bed as soon as Jaemin opened the door. However, Jaemin froze in surprise once he heard noises come from the other side of the room.

“Jaemin,” Renjun murmured as he slowly sat up in bed. “Why are you still awake? It’s…”

Renjun rubbed his eyes before looking at the digital clock on the nightstand between them.

“It’s nearly midnight,” he continued. “We leave tomorrow morning at 8 A.M.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jaemin sighed. “I just can’t fall asleep.”

“Any reason why?”

Jaemin pulled himself up to a sitting position before he began speaking.

“I don’t really know, to be honest… I usually try to go to sleep early whenever our schedule’s packed…”

Renjun hummed in thought.

“Is there anything that’s bothering you?”

Jaemin looked over to Renjun in mild shock. He didn’t really expect Renjun to check in on him, let alone try to have a conversation with him so late at night. Jaemin tried to look at Renjun’s face, but he could only see the moonlight seeping in from behind the curtains. He turned away and took in a deep breath.

“Well…” Jaemin hesitated. “I guess there’s just a lot going on. After being in the industry for so long, you’d think I’m used to this sort of thing, but sometimes it gets tiring. I think… Maybe it’s just because our comeback’s in two weeks.”

“Jaemin,” Renjun began. “It’s okay to feel exhausted every once in a while. I’m sure being a celebrity isn’t easy, especially when you have to think about fifty different things at once. Even after years of being famous, I don’t think anyone could ever really used to it, you know? You’re still human. You’re still a person.”

Renjun paused to think, and Jaemin used the brief silence to let the words sink in.

“Listen,” Renjun continued. "I’m not sure if this means anything coming from me, but you’ve done so well throughout your career. The fact that you’ve been an idol for so long proves that. Yes, it’s another album, but I promise you that you are hardworking enough and talented enough to succeed.”

A few moments passed in silence, the ambience suddenly much more intimate than it had been a few minutes ago. The quiet gave the two room to breathe and think, and Jaemin was grateful that the darkness of the room hid the blush creeping onto his cheeks. Although he’d heard those words from other people before, it felt different coming from Renjun: more earnest, more real. Suddenly, Jaemin felt the feeling of worry and anxiety for the past few days dissipate into comfort and peace.

Eventually, Jaemin answered, “Thank you. I really needed that.”

“Of course,” Renjun responded, smile evident in his voice. “Now try to go to sleep. We’ll need it in the morning.”

Thankfully, the second and final day of filming was much easier than the first— with most of the more complicated segments out of the way, the team shot the most heartwarming parts of the show as the members spent their last night in Shanghai sightseeing and having sincere conversations with one another about themselves and the future of NCT Dream.

By ending the show on such a positive note, Jaemin felt elated, his heart much lighter than it had been the day before. As the members complimented and encouraged each other, Jaemin made eye contact with Renjun behind the cameras, who offered him a sweet smile and a nod of affirmation that _yes, you’ve worked hard_ : a gentle reminder of the talk they’d shared last night.

Eventually, the director wrapped up the shoot, and once again, the entire team headed back to the hotel to rest before their flight back to Seoul the next day.

Once Jaemin and Renjun returned to their room, they quickly showered and got settled into bed, tired from the last two days’ worth of filming and traveling. However, instead of going straight to sleep, Jaemin shifted in bed to face Renjun’s side of the room.

“Renjun,” Jaemin called.

“Yeah?” Renjun answered. “Are you having trouble falling asleep again?”

“No,” Jaemin replied. “I… just wanted to say thank you, again.”

“For?”

Jaemin took a moment to gather his thoughts.

“For everything,” he said candidly. “You’ve done so much these past few days, from talking to the different restaurant and property owners to running random errands for the rest of the staff; plus, you comforted me when I was feeling really anxious last night… I just wanted to let you know that I see how hard you’re working, and I’m glad you came to Shanghai with us. … It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other, so I’m happy we were able to work together again.”

“Oh,” Renjun responded, still in shock from all he had heard. “I’m happy to see you again, too.”

Jaemin shifted in bed to turn away from Renjun.

“Good night, Renjun,” he called before closing his eyes.

“Good night,” Renjun answered back.

Jaemin felt himself drift off to sleep, his body feeling heavier and his mind slowly losing consciousness of the world around him. However, just before he fell asleep, he heard one last thing.

“This might actually be the last time I’ll ever see you, so I’ll say it now just in case,” Renjun whispered. “I’ve liked you for a really long time now.”

After waking up, Jaemin looked around to see that Renjun had already left the hotel room, presumably to meet in the lobby with the rest of the team before they went to the airport. He quickly got out of bed, changed into normal clothes, and double-checked all of his belongings, hurrying to get to the group of staff members waiting for him.

“Jaemin- _hyung_ , late as usual,” Jisung playfully chided. “This is pretty serious…”

“Ugh, you—”

One of their managers cut him off, “They brought the vans around to the front. Let’s get going, everyone.”

As the team began pulling their suitcases and walking toward the front doors, Jaemin found himself looking for Renjun among the group, the words from last night suddenly coming to mind.

_This might actually be the last time I’ll ever see you, so I’ll say it now just in case. I’ve liked you for a really long time now._

Jaemin wasn’t the type to let himself fall in love. Even though he was a very loving person, he focused mainly on work, and when he wasn’t working, he thought about what his fans wanted next. In a job like his, it was easy to care more about what others needed from him rather than what he wanted for himself.

But for the first time, Jaemin wanted to know what it felt like to receive love. For the first time, he had experienced care from someone outside of his circle: an unexplainable connection to another person that made him feel like himself rather than “NCT Dream’s lead rapper, Jaemin.” Even though the two had only spoken so many times, Renjun made Jaemin feel safe. He played along with Jaemin’s jokes, he provided solace in a time of need, he gave the brightest smile whenever he was happy.

Although he hadn’t realized it before, Jaemin knew that he didn’t want this to be last time he’d ever see Renjun.

However, once they got into the vans, the idols and their managers were in a separate vehicle from the rest of the staff, and everything returned to the hectic schedule they were painfully familiar with: check-in, priority boarding, one and half hours of flight time. Wherever Jaemin looked, he could only catch a quick glimpse of Renjun before the team hurried somewhere else.

_It’s not supposed to end like this. I don’t want it to end like this._

Before he knew it, the airplane was already touching down in Seoul, the captain saying some final announcements before the passengers could retrieve their belongings and exit the aircraft.

As soon as the seatbelt sign turned off, Jaemin popped up to look for Renjun, ignoring Chenle’s confused expression next to him. A few seconds later, he spotted Renjun several rows behind him grabbing his bag and suitcase before filing into the line of passengers. Jaemin quickly grabbed his belongings from the overhead compartment and left the airplane as soon as possible, waiting in the small pathway between the aircraft and the terminal.

Even as the rest of the staff and passengers passed by, Jaemin stayed and watched for Renjun to appear from the plane doors. For a moment, he feared that he’d missed Renjun entirely, but he saw Renjun pass by him just a few minutes later, Renjun’s face looking down at his phone.

Jaemin quickly ran toward Renjun, pulling him off to the side just before they had to head into customs and immigration.

“Huh—” Renjun looked up. “Jaemin? What are you doing?”

“Renjun, I have to tell you something,” Jaemin said urgently.

“What is it?” Renjun looked concerned all of a sudden.

“I don’t want this to be goodbye,” Jaemin confessed. “I… I heard you say you liked me last night.”

Renjun’s face contorted from an expression of concern into a look of worry. Renjun turned his face away in shame as his ears began to heat up.

“Look, about that—”

“I like you too.”

Renjun instantly looked back at Jaemin. He scanned Jaemin’s face only to see it filled with complete honesty and affection.

“Listen, I know this sounds crazy,” Jaemin continued. “But I promise I mean it with all my heart.”

Jaemin took one of Renjun’s hands and held it firmly, offering a warm smile: the same one he’d given him the first time, so many months ago. He quickly opened his mouth, but he closed it as he reached into his pants pocket to grab his phone. He typed something quickly before tapping his screen once.

“ _Huang Renjun, would you like to get jasmine tea with me sometime?_ ” The Naver Papago voice spoke.

Jaemin looked up from his phone with hopeful eyes and a playful smirk. Renjun cracked a smile before shaking his head.

“Of course I would.”


End file.
